Thursday, August 30, 2007

Why the Right be Hatin’ on Hip Hop:Race, Rap and RepublicansMin. Paul Scott

The crowd sat glued to their seats as Dr. Theodore R.Poindexter, head of the Moral Maniacs conservativegroup, stood before them banging his fist on thepodium. “They are the biggest threat to America sincethe Cuban Missile Crisis; destroying America from theinside out,” he yelled while sweat beads rolled downhis now crimson face. No , he wasn’t talking aboutsome terrorist cell of anti-American foreignnationalists. He was referring to the new rap group,“Hip Hop Strike Force....

Although Hip Hop has put billions of dollars into theAmerican economy over the last two decades, it isperhaps the most “hated on” form of entertainment evercreated.

For the hood, Hip Hop at its best has served as thevoice of the voiceless or as rapper Chuck D said the“the black CNN.” But for the Conservatives Hip Hophas been the epitome of evil, proof that Armageddonwas near at hand.

Now, the fear of offensive lyrics can be understood.Sen. Robert Wentworth’s worst fear is to be summonedto his son’s principal’s office because Lil Bobbythreatened to bust a cap in his 3rd grade gym teacherfor “dissing” him in front of the class.

But “gangsta rap” is not Hip Hop in its totality. Likemost issues concerning black people, the Right takesHip Hop at face value without putting it in ahistorical nor social context. So their “wellinformed” talking heads give the American people anoverly simplistic analysis.

“Tonight on Fox News Hip Hop is bad...Now for ournext story....”

Quiet as it is kept...Conservative America’s fear of“gangsta rap” is not because of the over abundance offour letter words; but that these same words could beused to incite a riot or at the least start youngpeople thinking critically about making fundamentalchanges in society.

They understand that the only difference between theradical militant Black Power leader of 1967 and thegangsta rapper of 2007, is content and misdirection ofrage. In other words, the degrees of separationbetween Malcolm X and 50 Cent are not as much as onemight think.

The threat of black voices of dissension has alwaysbeen a major concern for the “powers that be” in thiscountry. One of the first things that the slavetraders did to the enslaved Africans was to take thedrum. They found out the hard way that the drums ofwar that they heard beatin’ in the distance weren’tcalling the Africans to dance but to rebel.

During the Civil Rights Era the power structure beganto turn its attention to “urban youth violence” andFBI Chief J Edgar Hoover put his COINTELPRO Program inoverdrive with the purpose of preventing the rise of ablack messiah that could energize the youth.

During the early 70's, the fading Black PowerMovement left as its legacy militant music like theIsley Brothers’ “Fight the Power” and the OJ’s “Givethe People What they Want” until it was replaced bythe mindless, apolitical Disco music. Despite themilitant overtone of the Tramp’s song “Disco Inferno”and its challenge to “burn tha mother down” it wassimply a call for drugged up disco freaks to hit thedance floor.

It was the Hip Hop music of the late 80's and early90's that brought the content back to black music.The music of groups like Public Enemy resurrected therebellious spirit of a generation.

But that rebirth was not without consequence. Americahas always had a beef with those entertainers who havedared to bite the hand that has allowed them to gainwealth and popularity.

One can look at the careers of Paul Robeson, who wasblackballed for being a “Commie”, Billie Holiday whowas banned for singing about that “strange fruit”hanging from southern trees or Chicago Bulls playerCraig Hodges who was blacklisted by the NBA forwearing a dashiki to the White House.Although, Hip Hop was still in its commercial infancy,

Professor Griff, Sister Souljah, Ice T, Tupac Shakurand others felt the wrath of an America scorned at thehand of the Conservatives and those who courted theConservative vote.

Now in 2007 we see a renewed attack on Hip Hopfrom a post Michael Richards/Don Imus America achingfor a scapegoat upon which to blame all of thisnation’s problems.

So a few of the homies have gotten together andrecorded a “diss” record aimed at those Right Wingtalking heads who have been guilty of “dissing” HipHop. (And frankly, a few were thrown in just cuz wedon’t like ‘em.) The track, “Drums of War” featuringBig Swagg, Mr. Cox and yours truly can be found athttp://www.hiphopstrikesback.com

Let this be the song that sparks the revolution! TheLeft’s new anthem that makes the Right shake in theirboots! The song that will bring about a wave ofsocial equality that....

OK, I’ll settle for making Bill O’Reilly havenightmares about a bunch of “gangsta rappers” bumrushin’ the No Spin Zone, tying him up and forcing himto watch 48 uninterrupted hours of BlackEntertainment Television...

Don’t get me wrong. I like dogs. I remember watching Lassie every day when I came home from school and would cheer every time she would save Little Timmy from drowning in the lake.

But all the hoopla over the Mike Vick dog fighting thing is overkill to the third degree.Let’s keep it real. Besides the die hard football fans in Atlanta who still remember "the Gritz Blitz" from the Jimmy Carter days, how many Americans knew who Vick was before the dog fighting scandal?

Sure, he could run down the field hopping over defensive linemen, jumping tall buildings in a single bound....

No, wait a minute that was Underdog...

But anyway, the Falcons are more or less (OK, more) a mediocre team with one moving part; the man in question. I mean, I was disappointed. that the Falcons didn’t make the playoffs last year but let’s not send the man to jail!!

So, why the weeks and weeks of media hype over Vick and some pitbulls?

Could it be that the media have succumbed to PETA Pressure?

Now when black folks get upset, we may march, picket , have a rally at the courthouse. But those PETA people are known for rollin’ up on celebreties at ritzy award shows and throwin’ pig’s blood on $ 5,000 fur coats...

Now that’s gangsta!

Call me a Hip Hop Conspiracy Theorist, but I believe this is yet another attempt for post Imus white America to find another black boogey man to use as a scapegoat...

"Yeah, pal. We may have done the slavery thing and lynched your ancestors; But YOU guys freakin' kill dogs, man!!!!"

Proof of this can be found in the media’s attempts to connect dog fighting with Hip Hop...

Listen Homies, the pitbull thing really died out with DMX back in the 90's. Today’s commercial Hip hop is about girls and strip clubs...Pitbulls scare girls and aren’t allowed in Strip Clubs; bad for business.

Also, one of the main issues being discussed in barbershops in hoods across America is why is so much attention being payed to animals than the wrongs that have been done to black folks?

Historically, black life has not been valued. Back in slavery times, if a slave and a mule fell in the lake and the slave owner only had time to save one of them...well...

Also, as a side note, it may be noted that during WWII German POW’s got better treatment than black soldiers...

Not to mention the fact that one of Vick's harshest critics, Senator Robert "Barabaric! Barbaric!" Byrd was once a member of the KKK, a group that did to black folks what Vick, allegedly did to pitbulls.

If the pitbull had been accused of biting Michael Vick, all that would have happened is that the kid from the 70's show Benji would have held a press conference with some PETA people and some black "leaders," asked for healing and forgiveness and all would have been forgiven and forgotten. Fido would not have had to spend one night in the pound.

Bottom line is..All of those people who are spending valuable time trying to put Vick in the slammer with all the other messed up stuff going on in the world are really barking up the wrong tree.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Bill O’Reilly of the infamous Hip Hophobic , No "Spine" Zone has a new target, the rapper Nas.According to news reports over the past few weeks, Nas is scheduled to perform at Virginia Tech on Sept 6 in a concert for the victims of last semester’s massacre,; a decision that is being opposed by some of the family members of the victims.

Last night, O’Reilly started a campaign to put pressure on not only the president of VA Tech , Charles Steger but the governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine ,as well , to remove Nas from the line up that includes the Dave Mathews Band and John Mayer.http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/

Yep, old Billy Boy is pullin’ out the big guns for this one.

O’Reilly even pulled out an editorial from the Va Tech student newspaper that he claimed represented the feelings of "all" of the students at VA Tech, as exhibit A.

Now Bill, you know that any editorial really only represents the views of the person who wrote it.

Now, I ain’t gonna defend Nas because he does have the habit of flippin’ from intellectual to thug at the drop of a hat. You never know if Nas is gonna be naughty or nice. Also, I feel the pain of the families...I wouldn’t want to hear Nas’s diss track about "gettin’ yourself a gun" either if my son or daughter had been killed.

But is he the "gangsta rapper with lyrics as violent as they come" as O’Reilly claimed?

Nope.

I can give Bill a whole list of lyrics by rappers that make Nas sound like Pat Boone.And besides that period when he was a little miffed at Jay Z for sayin’ that he slept with Nas's baby's mama and left a condom on the car seat, (which would have made any man wanna pull out a can of whup...) Nas really isn’t known in Hip Hop circles for promoting violence but articulating what goes on in Queens, everyday.

The problem with "High and Mighty" O’Reilly and folks like him is they like to use their platforms to diss Hip Hop instead of having principled, informative discussions..

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

You can set your clock by it. Every election year they show up in front of a bunch of well dressed, college educated, middle class black folks who are supposed to "rep" the entire African American community. The moderator asks the same polite questions that he posed last election and he gets the same, well rehearsed answers that he got last election.

Just once, I'd like to see Tyrone "T-Boogie" Johnson grab the mic and yell,

"What ya gonna do for the hood, homie!"

as the stunned presidential candidates duck for cover under the dais.

Tis the season for political strategists to find new and imagin....

OK... they’re the same old, unimaginative strategies that they've always used; warmed over. It's the same technique year in and year out. Go to a few black mega churches, shake a couple of hands, attend the NAACP/Urban League Conventions and make a lot of grandiose speeches containing promises that you have no intention of keeping.

Simple isn't it?

Conventional wisdom says that if you invoke the name of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. enough times, most well off black folks will follow you through hell wearing gasoline underwear.

But that doesn't apply to "tha hood" where Dr. King, himself, found his harshest critics.

While you may be able to finagle a couple of votes from the black middle class by a nice speech, the hood wants action.

See, the people in the hood have "issues". Middle class blacks have "concerns" but poor folks have "issues."

While the biggest concern of Dr. Horatio Farnsworth Jackson may be the rising taxes on his summer cottage on the lake, Lakesha Johnson is more concerned about how she is going to pay the rent next month.

The irony of a presidential candidate being able to raise more money in an hour at a thousand dollar-a -plate fundraiser than all the folks in the kitchen washing the dishes will make all year does not escape the hood.

This is why many of us choose to spend time relaxing at the crib eating Oodles of Noodles and watching videos on BET instead of going to the polls on election day.

While many of the middle class will start hyperventilating at the thought of black folks not voting and start yelling,

"Your...(huff).. ancestors died.. (huff, huff.)..so that you...(gasp)...could have the right to vote!"

That piece of revisionist rhetoric does not quite match historical facts nor common sense.Our ancestors died for Freedom and Equality, not to pull a lever behind a shower curtain. Voting was always meant to be a means to an end, not vice versa.

Someone once said that voting is a democracy's alternative to rioting in the streets. So, in that case, it can be said that one brotha with a Molotov cocktail did more for "Civil Rights" then all of Dr. King’s marches put together. I am sure that most historians will agree that if it wasn't for the fiery "militant" threats of Malcolm X, as an alternative to "King's Dream", we wouldn't have a day off work the third Monday of every January to celebrate his birthday.

In reality, voting is a compromise; a peace treaty between the "haves" and the "have nots" that says:

"Despite all of that mumbo jumbo that they taught me in history class about what the "Founding Father" dudes said about fighting against tyranny, I believe that all of my aspirations for Life, Liberty with a can of happiness on the side can be realized by getting up on Election Day, entering a booth and drawing a line with a pen that they will so thoughtfully supply..."

So all that gloom and doom "signifyin'" about the evils of abstaining from the political process may play in Peoria but not in Compton.

Politicians must realize that the suit and ties that they court every election year do not represent all of black America. That room of BMW drivin’ , expensive cuff link wearin' folks at the NAACP function is no more representative of all African Americans than the group of cookie bakin' , soccer moms at the Harper Valley PTA is representative of all white Americans.

If the presidential candidates really want to get down, get funky, get loose and get a real taste of African Americana then they need to come down to the weekly political convention that we have every Saturday morning at Byron's Barber Shop and Beauty Salon.

We'll save a seat for ya....

Min. Paul Scott is a writer and activist in Durham NC. His blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Sunday, August 12, 2007

*** I wrote this back when 60 minutes first aired the "Stop Snitchin'" story last April. Anderson Cooper also ran the same story on CNN a couple of nights later. 60 minutes aired this same story again August 12. The Hip Hop witch hunts continue.....

I could tell by the way the media were pumpin' up the Cam'ron 60 minutes interview days prior to the airing that this wasn't going to be one of Hip Hop's stellar moments.

With Hip Hop already under fire in the Don Imus aftermath, which was only eclipsed by the VA Tech murders, America needed a new bad guy; a Hip Hop Hitler to point to as the source of all of America's problems...Enter Cameron Giles.....

Let's face it. It was ill advised, (or for the less politically suave, down right dumb) for Cam to say that he wouldn't turn in a serial killer livin' in the crib next to his, while Ethel Lou in Topeka was still shook from the story about the Virginia Tech shooter.

However, in reality it was a set up that stank to high heaven. White America needed a new mainstream poster child to blame for the deterioration of America's moral values and Cam'ron gave it to them, signed, sealed delivered and decorated with a golden eagle medallion.

Historically, America has always needed a black boogey man, a sacrificial lamb on whose back all the sins of the world could be placed.

If you look back at the Civil Rights Era, when Rev. Martin Luther King was leading his march to bring attention to racial/economic injustice in Memphis, the media focus was not on the smooth talkin' dude in the nice suit but on a gang of paid off ruffians called the Invaders who allegedly wrecked havoc on innocent bystanders. This served as evidence that segregation was indeed justified because Black folks were not quite civilized enough to eat a hot stack of pancakes at Howard Johnson's.

Things became increasingly worst in the late 80's as white folks went from trying to segregate a swimming pool to trying to segregate an entire ocean at Virginia Beach. The cause of the problem was not discrimination. No, according to the press, the real problem was that black college kids were shattering the plaster in Biff and Britney's summer cottage with their darn "ghetto" blasters...

During the early 90's, I remember how the video tape of Rodney King being brutalized by the LAPD was replaced by Reginald Denny getting a mediaeval beat down by a four man army of "street thugs." And no, the "rioters" in LA were not making political statements about systematic socio-economic inequalities; they were just monsters on a blood thirsty rampage fueled by NWA lyrics and St. Ides Malt Liquor.

Things have remained the same in the 21st century. Back in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the questions about broken levees and government coverups were drowned out by America's outrage over black thugz stealing wide screen TV sets from washed out department stores. And since they didn't have any electricity the thugz spent their afternoons target practicing at helicopters that were trying to deliver food and medical supplies to storm victims.

For those with long term memory disorders, they need only think back to last winter when the outrage over Michael "Kramer" Richards dropping all those N bombs quickly switched to a national debate over why Black folks call their homies the "N" word.

This brings us to the Imus "nappy headed ho" fiasco, where the news clips of a deranged looking cowboy who looked like he had one too many shots of Jack Daniels were replaced with clips of Snoop Dogg giving his deep intellectual insight into the various degrees of "ho-ism"

So that brings us up to 4/22/07 and the Cam interview, where the talking heads have just discovered that not only don't rappers "love dem ho's" they ain't got no love for the Po Po's either. What is odd is that they did not once mention that the genesis of the distrust of the police is not based on a rap lyric but rooted in decades of Jim Crow-isms, COINTELPRO and numerous cases of mistaken identity and driving while black. Did they once mention that the Sean Bell shooting was maybe just enough to make Black folks believe that the Officer Friendly from their kindergarten coloring books wasn't so friendly after all?

Although Hip Hop has been pretty resilient over the years as it has been a consistent cheddar producing cash cow for phat cats from Park Ave to Rodeo Drive, based on the current political climate as Moe Dee told LL back in tha Day "this be the death blow."

Now, I am far from a Hip Hop apologist but I know a set up when I see one. And you can best believe that the "Hip Hop" question will be the source of endless political debates between now and the next election.

What America will never admit is that ultimately, Hip Hop is not the problem, racism is. And if you get rid of racism today, the "N" word and all things associated would be gone tomorrow.

To portray all Hip Hop artists as members of some Third Reich is ludicrous. Although some of the major record label owners may bear some resemblance to the evil master of propaganda, Adolf Hitler, "da 50 Cent" is not "der Fuhrer."

Monday, August 6, 2007

You’ve seen the gag a million times on 70's sitcoms. A nerdy white guy rolls up on a group of tough lookin’ black dudes just chillin’ on the block, then all of a sudden the white guy yells for no apparent reason,

"Please, just take my wallet !!!" ...while the Black dudes look at him like he’s lost his darn mind.I guess ole "Kneel and Bob" Allen must have left his wallet at home when he went to the potty in the park, last month.

According to news reports, Florida Representative Bob Allen (Republican) was arrested last July 11 for soliciting sex from an undercover black male cop. The reason he gave was his fear of black men...

Now many will quickly ask what rational person would believe such a cockamamy story ?

But hold on, now..

Allen is not the first one in history to cop the fear of a Black man plea...

How many cases of the slaughter of black men can be attributed to the fear of the rise of a "Nat Turner" type leading a mass insurrection against plantation owners during slavery ?

Also, one of America's biggest fears has been the rape of white women by Black men. (However, you gotta admit the fear of the rape of white men was kinda original.)

There are many cases, like those of the Scotsboro Boys who were accused of raping two white women in 1931 and Emmit Till who was murdered for whistlin’ at a white chick in 1955, where black men were prosecuted "southern style."

And who can forget the hysteria surrounding the Central Park Rape case that made "wildin" a household word in white America, back in 1985.

Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, author of the book "The Isis Papers" has chalked this paranoia off as "the fear of white genetic annihilation." To break it down, this means that if black men and white woman continue to have interracial relationships, in a few years , because of the dominance of the "black" gene there will be no more white people. A funnier more X-rated version of this theory was delivered by Warren Beatty in the 1998 movie, "Bulworth."

We must never forget the fictional black dudes that were accused of murders that white folks committed.

Remember Charles Stuart, the Boston man who blamed the murder of his wife on a black man or South Carolina’s Susan Smith who had an APB issued for black men, world wide, for the drowning of her children back in 1994?

Politicians have also found it politically expedient to blame "tha brotha’s," as well. Think back to 1988 when George Bush’s "Willie Horton" ads had white folks looking behind every bush for a black boogey man.

During the 90's, thanks to movies like Boys in the Hood and the popularity of rappers like the late Tupac Shakur, the image of the young black male became synonymous with "Thug Life. So, I just assumed that in 2007, since most of the "gangsta rap:" is purchased by white people, the stereotypical image of the black thug came with a " for entertainment purposes only" disclaimer.

But there is nothing humorous about this image, especially when it could be responsible for sending black men to jail, unjustly.

Although, Bob Allen was cold busted, he thinks that he should still be able to keep his job representing the good folks of Florida.

I just have a problem with a dude that is so petrified of black men that he would "assume the position" being responsible for making laws that will effect the lives of thousands of black boys.

I am tired of Black men being thought of as blood thirsty thugs.

The people of Florida should be also and demand Bob Allen's resignation...

Min. Paul Scott is a writer and activist in Durham NC. His blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.comHe can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Friday, August 3, 2007

When Herald Sun columnist John McCann dropped the 411, last Wednesday that Durham Mayor Bill Bell would possibly give the key to the city to rapper, Ludacris, who is scheduled to be in the Bull City this weekend for a Car and Bike Show, I bet that the phones at City Hall didn't stop ringing.

"You're going to give the key to our beloved city to WHO!!!????..."

But according to today's News and Observer, it was a false alarm.

According to reporter Matt Dees, Mayor Bell said:

"I didn't appreciate the process, to put out a press release saying I was going to do something when I hadn't made up my mind,"

That didn't mean that he wasn't going to do it before it hit the paper, does it?

According to the article, he went on to say that the decision was not politically motivated.

Yeah, right...

Thomas Stith, the dude who's running against Bell in the next election said that he wouldn't give Luda the key to the city from the jump according to both the Herald Sun and News and Observer.

Now, I've got some problems with Luda. The "Pimpin' All Over the World Thing" at about the same time that MTV was expanding into Africa didn't sit right with me.

Although he wore a Marcus Garvey T-Shirt and bragged that the most "beautiful women are in Africa," if you're "pimpin'" over there, that still makes them "ho's" doesn't it?

But I'm also not a big fan of "Sister Souljah" moments either, when politicians play to the conservative crowd by quickly dismissing Hip Hop, altogether.

This would have been a good moment for dialogue.

Maybe, they could have done a disclaimer and said that the key was in recognition for the Ludacris Foundation and the song "Run Away Love" that spoke to the issue of troubled teenage girls and not for the song "Move B***** Get Out tha Way."

Hip Hop is out of control because the older generation did not take it seriously a generation ago and did not engage rappers in serious, critical dialogue.

Paul Scott

Paul Scott

Paul Scott is a minister, writer, lecturer and activist. He has been a guest on talk shows around the world including Hannity and Colmes (Fox News), Fox News Live, Nachman (MSNBC), Hot 97 (NY), The Bev. Smith Show, Mancow Morning Show, Mike Medved Show, Russ Parr Morning Show, Mo in the Midday WVON (Chicago), Tom Pope Show (DC) Newstalk 1010 (Toronto) and SAfm (South Africa) discussing the issues of Rap,Race,Religion and Revolution. He has been interviewed by many newspapers including the New York Times, the USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. Scott has lectured at universities across the country including West Virginia University, Clemson, Winston Salem State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. Scott was ordained a Baptist minister in 1998 he later went on to coin the phrase Afrikan Liberation Theology, which is "Black Liberation Theology for the 21st century." After forming the New Righteous Movement, Scott formed the Messianic Afrikan Nation in 2003. For more information contact (984) 377-2064 info@nowarningshotsfired.com or Twitter @NWSF